U.S. men's water polo team beats China, 8-4

The first match for the U.S. men's water polo team was Sunday against host China, but it was no problem for captain Tony Azevedo. The Long Beach Wilson High graduate led all scorers with five goals. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses of Rancho Palos Verdes had 11 saves. The U.S. beat China, 8-4.

The U.S. next plays Italy on Tuesday.

-- Debbie Goffa

Serbia is too much for U.S. in men's volleyball

The U.S. men's national volleyball team was simply outmatched today against Serbia after Ivan Milijkovic collected 16 points on 16 kills to lead his team past the Americans, 25-23, 25-19, 25-17, in an FIVB World League final round match in Rio de Janeiro.

The U.S. men, whose 9-3 record got them to the final round, now must defeat Poland on Thursday (9:15 a.m. PDT) to have a chance at a medal match.

Clay Stanley of Honolulu led the U.S. with 10 points on eight kills and two blocks.  David Lee of Alpine, Calif., scored seven points on four kills, two blocks and the only ace scored in the match.

Marko Podrascanin took care of the defense for Serbia with a match-high five blocks. Serbia, which had 13 blocks in the match compared to just five for the U.S., converted 48% of its kill attempts to points.

Among the Southern Californians who scored in the match were Ryan Millar of Palmdale, who had five points on four kills and one block, and Gabe Gardner of San Clemente, with one point on one kill.

Libero Rich Lambourne of Tustin was credited with nine digs on 14 attempts and 14 “excellent” receptions with no faults on 27 attempts.

-- Debbie Goffa

Photo: The Serbs celebrate their victory over the Americans. Credit: Vanderlei Almeida /Agence France-Presse / Getty Images

U.S. water polo coach wants drought to end

Terry Schroeder had always wanted to do one thing: coach the men's U.S. Olympic water polo team. But when the opportunity arose, Schroeder wasn't sure the timing was right. As Helene Elliott writes, that was 13 months ago, and Ricardo Azevedo had been fired as coach and the team was in turmoil. Schroeder, the assistant coach, decided to take the job. His first goal? "Just to try to keep everybody calm and focused and stabilize the program at that point," he said.

It has been 20 years since the U.S. medaled in this sport, and he hopes that will change in Beijing. Read the rest of Helene's column.

Photo: Terry Schroeder oversees a practice session at California Lutheran University's Samelson Aquatics Center. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times

The road to Beijing continues

It's now less than a month until 08-08-08, so do you know where your Beijing-bound U.S. athletes are? On the court, in the pool and heading for home.

Earlier today in Yokohama, Japan, the U.S. women's national indoor volleyball team lost its opening game in the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 to top-ranked Brazil.

The World Grand Prix Final Round is a round-robin format. Each team plays five matches in five days. The U.S. will play Japan on July 10, Cuba on July 11, Italy on July 12 and China on July 13.

The top-ranked and Beijing-bound U.S. women's water polo team has been warming up for the Games with a four-match series against No. 2-ranked Australia.

The U.S. won the July 4 opener in Los Alamitos, 13-12. Australia came back on July 6 in La Jolla to beat the U.S., 12-11. Last night in Coronado, the Americans prevailed, 12-6. The final pre-Beijing Olympics match will be at 6 p.m. Thursday in Stanford University's Avery Aquatics Center.

USA Softball, also headed to Beijing, on Tuesday routed the Portland All-Stars, 19-0. Pitcher Monica Abbott earned her 14th win and third no-hitter of the season, working nine complete innings and registering 15 strikeouts.

The team has seven games remaining on the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour, which concludes July 26 with a sold-out game in Irvine.

--Greg Johnson

Photo: Natalie Golda (#6) moves the ball past Australian defender Jenna Santoromito during an exhibition match in La Jolla; credit: Robert Benson/US PRESSWIRE